Operations

Operations is not as glamorous as some other finance careers, but operations professionals are critical in ensuring that banking systems work and that the business runs smoothly.

Finance operations professionals ensure that financial services firms and banks have clear processes and systems throughout the company, and they seek to improve operational efficiency wherever possible.

Finance Operations Roles

The bulk of junior operations staff work in settlements and clearing roles. Clearing involves ensuring that one bank's records of a sale match those of the buying organisation. Settlements involves processing instructions in the buying and selling of stocks and shares.

A large part of settlement and clearing work is working out what went wrong when electronic systems fail. Exceptions must be investigated and resolved, and systems tweaked to prevent them as far as possible.

A trade support officer's role is to support traders, handling queries and sorting out discrepancies between the parties involved in the trade.

More senior operations roles are largely strategy or project management based, and typically involve finding ways to streamline operations, and to cut costs and processing times.

Qualifications Required

Candidates with a degrees in business, particularly with an operations management or finance major, are usually preferred for finance operations roles. Some banks take on graduate trainees in these areas. Knowledge of systems such as Euroclear, SWIFT and CCASS are highly advantageous.

Prospects

Back office roles such as finance operations have becoming increasingly important since the global financial crisis. With regulators now insisting upon more transparency in the way banks report and record their activities, so operations staff face more and more challenges.

If you have an eye for detail, a flexible nature and a solid grasp of operational management techniques, than a career in finance operations could be very satisfying.